Writing to Save a Life: The Louis Till File (by John Edgar Wideman)

BIOGRAPHY

In 1955, Emmett Till, aged fourteen, traveled from his home in Chicago to visit family in Mississippi. Several weeks later he returned, dead; allegedly he whistled at a white woman. His mother, Mamie, wanted the world to see what had been done to her son. She chose to leave his casket open. Images of her brutalized boy were published widely. While Emmett’s story is known, there’s a dark side note that’s rarely mentioned. Ten years earlier, Emmett’s father was executed by the Army for rape and murder. Written by : John Edgar Wideman Edited by : Scribner ISBN : 9781501147289 Published : 11/15/2016